G-D SPOKE TO MOSHE IN THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI, IN THE TENT OF MEETING, ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH, IN THE SECOND YEAR SINCE LEAVING EGYPT...THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL ENCAMP, EACH MAN BY HIS FLAG ACCORDING TO THE SIGNS OF THEIR FATHERS' HOUSEHOLD, AT A DISTANCE AROUND THE TENT OF MEETING THEY WILL ENCAMP (Vayikra 1:2, 2:2).
Why did the Jewish people wait a year before organizing themselves with tribal flags?
The tribal flags potentially cause divisiveness. Each tribe may become devoted to itself at the expense of national unity. The nation needed to wait until the establishment of the mishkan. Then they could camp under tribal flags. The mishkan became a central focus uniting the nation. Only when the nation felt a common purpose could they also strengthen the identity and unique traits of each tribe (R. Yaakov Kamenetsky).
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